A Destiny Altered
by nefieslab
Summary: Galen Marek has just been betrayed by Vader. Floating in space, dying slowly, Galen receives a vision. His father's spirit appeals to him and Galen takes the mission set by the Force itself. To tear down the Empire. But he can't do it alone, he needs allies. Senators, princesses, Jedi thought dead and a very special holocron to name but a few. Feel free to suggest Jedi allies.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing within this story. If you recognise something it belongs to George Lucas. Or is it Disney now? I forget to be honest. Either way, the important thing is that it's not owned by me.**

**Note: Yes I am aware that it's been… a very long time, since I updated my Potter Fic or my Bleach fic. Not even mentioning my others… but I am a man with huge mood swings in fandoms I'm afraid. And right now my fandom is Star Wars. Luckily for all you Star Wars fans out there, I always have time for Star Wars. **

A Destiny Altered – A New Path Revealed

Galen Marek.

That was his name. He had remembered it all of a sudden as he was thrown through the window of the spaceship and into the cold vacuum of space by his master, Lord Vader. This had been unexpected to say the least. He had responded to his Master's summons after he had defeated the Jedi Master Shaak Ti. He had expected the same words he had received when he had killed his other two major targets.

Good enough, but not yet ready to face the Emperor.

Instead his Master had told him that he would fight the Emperor with Vader and that together they would win. And then the betrayal had come to light. Emperor Palpatine had known of his Master's plans and had commanded Vader to kill him.

So here he was.

Floating into the dark abyss of space, a hole through his gut, broken bones from being thrown around the room and feeling like his lungs were about to implode as the oxygen was forcefully removed from him by the vacuum.

This had been unexpected.

He had often thought that the common belief that your life flashed before your eyes when you died was a load of rubbish. After all, he had killed enough people to know that none of them had seen anything. Or if they had they hadn't reacted to it, only reacting to the pain of their deaths instead. But right now he was beginning to believe there was some merit to the idea. A long time ago he had remembered his life before becoming Vader's apprentice and it had hurt his progress, leading the Sith Lord to hurt him in turn. Deciding that he would be better without such memories, for his own health and well-being, he willed them away, locking them deep inside of him.

And yet now here they were again, swimming before his eyes as the stars began to blur. No, the stars weren't blurring. His eyes were blurring. To be expected he supposed. He was completely unprotected in the void of space after all. But even as he closed his eyes the memories were there, flashing before him. Some of them were just voices, just thoughts he had held as a child. Like his name, a name he had forsaken for the title; Starkiller.

Galen, for he had resolved to refer to himself as the name his parents had given him, saw more in his memories though. He saw, surprisingly, a lot of Wookies. It seemed he had grown up in a Wookie community with his father for some reason. This memory didn't make an awful lot of sense to him until his mind processed a memory he had tried even harder to repress.

The duel between Darth Vader and his father.

Even though the man was heavily hooded and robed, Galen knew him to be his father as he had memories of seeing his father in such robes before. What startled Galen the most was that when Vader and his father duelled they fought with lightsabers and the Force. His father even gave a good showing against a clearly much stronger opponent, he was glad to note. But this led Galen to the revelation that cut him almost as deeply as Vader's lightsaber had done not moments ago. With such a level of skill there could be no doubt.

Galen's father had been a Jedi.

Oh how it stung, deep in his gut, to learn that his sole purpose since being taken in by Vader was to hunt down people like his father. He wondered… were they his friends? Certainly they had been allies during the Clone Wars if nothing else. But what had they been to his father? Was Kota once his best friend? Had Shaak Ti been someone he had admired or, Force forbid, his Jedi Master? What had he done to the people, to the remains of the Order, which his father had fought for? He shed his blood for?

Was his father ashamed of the path he had taken?

Galen supposed, rather solemnly, that he would be. His father had been a Jedi, a Knight at the least if not a Master. It must hurt his father's spirit to know that his only son had become that which the Jedi were sworn to fight against.

_I never wanted any of this for you…_

Galen was tempted to open his eyes when he heard the whisper echoing throughout his mind but knew that he was in space. No one was going to be there to speak to him in space. It was impossible for sound to travel in a vacuum anyway. That left only a few options. And all of them were based around the idea that he was hearing the voice in his head. It took him only a second but Galen suddenly knew that the voice that whispered softly in his mind was his father's. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. Tentatively, very aware that his life was close to ending, Galen whispered back with his mind, into the Force.

_Father?_

There was a pause for a second and Galen was almost convinced that he had imagined the voice. But then it whispered into his mind again.

_I never wanted any of this for you son…_

With renewed hope and belief that this whisper was his father's spirit reaching out to him, Galen 'spoke' back as best he could even as he felt his body beginning to shut down.

_Father… I'm sorry…_

_I know son._

* * *

Galen awoke with a gasp, unaware that he had fallen asleep. Or, much more likely, lost consciousness. He looked around himself hastily and almost wished that he hadn't as the bright light stung his eyes, forcing him to close his eyes tightly. With his eyes recovering he decided to try and figure out where he was through his other senses. The absence of pain and freezing cold suggested that he was no longer in the void of space, as did the light if he was honest. It also appeared that he was sat down. That struck him as odd because the only time he'd ever really had the luxury of being allowed to sit down was when he was meditating and he had only ever been able to do that safely aboard his ship, The Rouge Shadow. But it was also clear that he was not currently on the Shadow, the hum of the engines, the sound of Juno singing under her breath to pass the time at the controls and the clattering of PROXY's feet on the metal floor… all of these sounds were missing.

So he was somewhere else. Somewhere bright, somewhere reasonably warm and apparently he was sat in a rather comfortable chair.

Deciding that it was now or never, Galen opened his eyes slowly. They adjusted to the bright light streaming in through the windows a lot better this time. He glanced around. He was in a large, circular room, with many comfortable low chairs arranged in a large semi-circle. They were of different shapes and sizes, no doubt meant for different races. Standing from his own chair slowly, Galen immediately thought to check something. His hand pressed against his stomach, where he knew Vader had run him through his with lightsaber. Only he found no evidence of any such wound.

Galen was about to announce to him that this was proof of his death before he glanced at the nearest window again. He blinked a little bit. No… it couldn't be.

Moving to the window quickly, he pressed his hands against the cold glass as he took in the sights spread out before him. Now he was sure that he was not dead because he was sure that there was no way that the afterlife looked exactly like Coruscant. There was no way the Force had such a twisted sense of humour. Especially since, from what he could gather from the view, he was in the Temple District. So named because at its centre were the ruins of the once great Jedi Temple. Pausing for a moment he considered the room he was in once again.

The chairs for different races.

The view of Coruscant through tall windows.

The lack of any kind of artistic flair, all just Spartan design.

This was the Jedi Temple.

Somehow, for some reason, Galen was in the Jedi Temple. He was sure of it. Nothing else would have provided a view over this area of the giant city planet. But the questions remained. Why was he here? More importantly, how did he get here after being left for dead light-years away from the planet, let alone the Temple? Feeling a disturbance in the Force, Galen spun around, his hand instantly pulling his lightsaber up into his right hand. He held it slightly behind him; his arm arced above his head as the blade burst forth in a vibrant display of energy.

Two things surprised Galen in this second alone.

First was that his lightsaber was different. Of course the handle, the grip, everything about it seemed exactly the same. The difference was the colour of his blade. In the place of the deep red that he had once found connected him better to the Dark Side, the blade was a stunning blue. It was the same shade of blue as the ice in the deepest caves of the ice moon Hoth, a blade that would have made any Jedi proud to own it. That fact alone made Galen falter slightly. His blade had changed from that of a Sith to that of a Jedi. The weapon felt heavier in his hands for a moment, as if it knew that he was not worthy of wielding it. After all, to a Sith a lightsaber was a weapon. To a Jedi it was a defensive tool.

But he dragged his mind away from the strange event surround his lightsaber to face the second thing that had surprised him. Less of a 'thing' and more of a 'person' actually. A man wearing hooded brown Jedi robes was stood in the centre of the room. The doors to the room had not opened and Galen knew that the man had not been there before. It was as if the Jedi had simply appeared from thin air. For he could decide what to do the figure looked at him directly for the first time.

Even with half of the face covered in shadows Galen recognised the face of the father he had so recently remembered for the first time,

"Father?" he asked tentatively, deactivating his blade and letting his arm fall loosely back by his side. Instinctively he clipped his lightsaber to his belt, not even looking at what he was doing, he was too transfixed by the sight of his father, "Is it truly you father?"

The figure did not move for the longest time and Galen was beginning to think that he was wrong, that this man may look like his father but was actually not. But after a few moments the man nodded slowly,

"Yes son…" he whispered, instantly reminding Galen of the voice that had whispered in his mind when he had been in space, "I am your father Galen. And before you ask… I did not bring you here. The Force brought you here."

Galen's eyes widened. Sure he was adept at using the Force, calling upon it for aid and strength, but never had he ever thought that the Force would actively move towards him in anyway. This kind of shift in the Force was virtually unheard of. Of course it might happen often but he had just never been taught about it. After all Vader had only taught him the basics of the Jedi and Sith histories, probably so that it would be easier to control him he reasoned.

An odd, stray, thought struck him and caused him to pause for a moment in his thought process. He was referring to his Master as Vader more often than not. Did he still see the man as his Master? To be honest the answer was no. No Vader was no longer his Master, the student/mentor bond had been severed by Vader and Galen was not going to rush to rebuild it. The cyborg Sith had done nothing to warrant such loyalty.

Getting his thoughts back on track, Galen was uncertain what to say. After all, how did you ask a spirit what it was that the unseen power behind everything in existence wanted with you? He swallowed a little bit, his throat suddenly feeling very dry as the consequences of his next words began to dawn on him. His connection to the Force could be destroyed if he offended the Force. Could the Force even be offended? He didn't know but he was in absolutely no hurry to find out. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he spoke,

"Father… why has the Force brought me here?" he asked quietly, gesturing around the two of them, "I mean… why has it seen fit to bring me here of all places? I am a Sith, I was trained to be a Sith weapon. To bring me to the Jedi Temple… it's…"

His father held up a hand to stop him and Galen followed the unspoken instruction. He got the feeling that he had been rambling a little bit there. There was a moment of silence, as if his father was listening to something only he could hear, before he turned to his son again,

"It is right." He told his son with just the beginnings of a smile tugging at his world-weary and weather face, "The Force knows you better than you know yourself Galen. It knows that within you is the soul of a Jedi… not a Sith. As for why it has brought you here to the temple… that answer is simple and yet complex. You see Galen; you are not in the Temple. This is all within you mind – a vision granted to you by the will of the Force."

It made sense to Galen when he thought about it. After all there were certain things, like his wounds and practicality of travelling such a huge distance without him waking, that just didn't add up. They were illogical in the real world but in a dream, in a vision, they were real. The revelation that the Force saw him as a Jedi was something that he was having trouble wrapping his head round though. He had done terrible things in the name of the Dark Side of the Force… how could he have the soul of a Jedi? Galen glanced down at the lightsaber attached to his waist. Was that why the Force had seen fit to give him a blue blade? Perhaps it was even supplied by his own mind, his own self, and that the Force insisted was that of a Jedi. If so then his subconscious knew something he didn't about himself that made him worthy of being a Jedi.

Reaching down, he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and held it in the palm of his hand, simply observing it. His father was watching his inspect the weapon and seemed to find it pleasing for the same small smile had not left his face yet. Holding the weapon in his hand he came to a decision. His father was watching over him and he had the chance to make him proud. He had a chance to make up for the wrongs he had wrought. Swallowing down any fear or doubts that he had, he glanced at his father and promised himself. He would do right by his father; he would become a Jedi like the Force believed he could be. Bowing slightly to his father, he spoke to the floor rather than to the man,

"Father… I bow to the will of the Force." He whispered, "I shall endeavour to become a Jedi like you were before me. I will honour your memory and attempt to heal the damage I have done to the galaxy as Vader's apprentice."

Light blossomed around his father, making the hooded man glow brightly. Galen blinked as he stepped back from the sudden brightness. Usually such a display of light was a sure sign of some kind of energy weapon or shield. But all he felt from the light was warmth and, dare he say it, serenity that he had never felt before. As a Sith he followed his emotions, using his anger and hatred to command the Force to do as he willed. But right now all he felt was warmth, harmonious warmth that told him that the Force approved of his decision. As the light faded back into the recesses of his hooded robes, Galen's father smiled at his son,

"You will make me proud Galen, I have no doubt." He told is son with a firm conviction, the kind only known to parents, "You were always meant to be a great Jedi Galen – I have always known it, the Force knew it and now, so do you."

A thought struck Galen that made his eyes widen a little bit. He blinked a few times. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before! Galen had a major obstacle to overcome if he wanted to become this great Jedi,

"But father… I have no Master to teach me the ways of the Jedi." He told his father the problem as he perceived it, "All I know… is how to be a Sith! I need someone to teach me how to control my dark side. I need someone who can help make me into a Jedi."

Once again his father angled his head slightly, as if listening to some invisible advisor. Galen had to admit that if that happened to him a lot now that he was going to become a Jedi he was going to have to start wearing ear plugs. What seemed strange to Galen though was that his father didn't seem at all bothered by his outburst. Instead he smiled reassuringly, a smile that Galen had not seen directed at him since he had been very young,

"Son, the Force will provide you with your Masters." He announced before smiling faintly again, "You will find one Master on Bespin, in Cloud City. He will begin your instruction in being a Jedi."

Galen nodded in understanding, trying to figure out how he was going to manage to get to Bespin from where he remembered he was currently in space. Without a ship. That would be problematic, he just hoped that the Force would be able to help with that. Thinking over what had been said he paused when he caught something he had dismissed only a few seconds ago,

"Masters? Plural?" he questioned his father with a puzzled expression, "I am to have more than one Master? I did not realise that this was encouraged by the Jedi… I have always been told that they taught with the classical one mentor and one student approach."

His father nodded in agreement but the smile let Galen know that his father was humouring him. Apparently he believed that the Force had come up with another way of teaching him. There was a further stretch of silence before it was broken once again by his father,

"Once you have secured you first Master… journey to the Jedi Temple." He instructed his son, "Make your way to the sublevels of the great building and head towards the storage area. There will be an undamaged room marked 'Mandalorian'. There you shall find many things… but what you are looking for will be at the very back. You are looking for a prototype holo-bot and the holocron which you will find in a box beside it. When you are back aboard your ship you will install the holocron into the holo-bot and you will learn the path of redemption from a Jedi who once walked your path. Now… it is time for you to leave my son."

Galen was very intrigued by the sounds of his second Master. If a holo-bot could indeed be called a Master since it was just a druid. But perhaps it was the holocron which made it special? He would have to figure it out when he fired the druid up he decided. What he then focused on was the fact that his father, and the Force, seemed to agree that it was time for him to leave. But Galen didn't want to leave. He had too many questions, both for his father and for the Force itself,

"Wait! Father… how will I know that I am making the right choices? What is my mission? What am I to do when I am a Jedi?" he asked his father, wanting as many answers as possible before he disappeared, "Will this be the last time I see you father? I only just got you back into my life again… I don't want you to be out of my life again…"

A hand on his shoulder pulled Galen out of his thoughts. His father stood before him, a reassuring hand resting on his shoulder,

"The Force and I shall be in contact with you Galen. As for your mission… it is simple. You are to become a Jedi, save as many fellow Jedi as you can… and to help the universe shrug off the yolk of Imperial control." He instructed his son formally before his expression softened, "I will always be watching over you Galen… and just by accepting this difficult mission you are making me proud of you."

Galen would dispute that he had tears in his eyes at this point if anyone had been around to ask him but the fact was that he did have tears in his eyes. He nodded to his father even as the surroundings began to blur,

"Goodbye father…" he whispered, "I will make you prouder still. May the force be with you."

"And with you also my son."

* * *

With another jolt Galen was awake, panting for breath as the vision ended. He knew the vision had ended because now there was pain again. That and he wasn't in the Jedi Temple anymore, he was floating in a liquid of some kind with a tube down his throat. Naturally he pulled the tube out of his throat as quickly as possible, gagging the entire time. This didn't solve much though as the liquid began to rush down his throat through his open mouth. Lashing out with the force, the container that he had not noticed he was in shattered and he rushed forwards with the liquid, being washed out of the broken shell.

Coughing and spluttering in his attempts to regain his breath, Galen looked around himself quickly to try and determine whether or not he was in danger. He was in a dark room but it was very clearly a medical bay, leading him to believe that the liquid he had awoken in had been bacta solution. That explained the terrible taste it had left in his mouth as well. Groaning a little bit, he staggered almost drunkenly to his feet. His mind felt sluggish from the sedation but the Force was working quickly to purge it from his system.

His hands experimentally made their way to his gut, feeling his bare torso for where he knew Vader had run him through with his blade. There was a faint scar, proof that this was real and not another vision. Realising that he was actually naked, Galen cast his gaze around for any clothes that he could find. Finding a bundle of fabric on a nearby console, he shook it out to find that it was what looked like a simple robe. A simple brown robe, like Jedi wore before the purge. He paused for a moment.

Now he was reasonably sure that he was still somewhere under Imperial control since he doubted even the Force itself could have transported him across space to a state of the art healing facility which he knew he would have needed. Galen suddenly felt the urge to reach for his lightsaber, the lightsaber which wasn't at his belt. Spinning around to face a disturbance in the Force, his eyes widened as he saw Vader stalking towards him at his usual, cumbersome, pace,

"You!" he growled, his anger flaring at the sight of the one who had attempted to kill him. While he might have resolved to become a Jedi, he still held a lot of anger inside of him. Most of it was directed at the Sith Lord in front of him, "You tried to kill me!"

"And I was the one who saved your life." Vader announced, his voice as automated and cold as it always had been. He pointed to Galen and the apprentice could almost feel the scowl that his (former) Master had to be wearing beneath his mask, "Do not take that tone with me boy. You are my apprentice and you will respect me as your Master."

He wasn't sure why he did but Galen laughed a little bit bitterly,

"Of course, Master!" he shot back with bitter sarcasm, "Because it's common practice to try and kill your apprentice!"

Vader did not show any reaction to Galen's outburst but then again he was unlikely to. Galen had spent enough time around Vader to know that if he had angered the Sith Lord in person he would currently be choking to death from the Force. But he wasn't. And that was because Galen knew the Sith Lord well enough to know when he was here… and when he was just having PROXY assume his form in a glorified holo-call. Again the finger was raised,

"You will do well to remember where your loyalties lie my apprentice. The Emperor had to believe that I had killed you. The time was not right for us to strike." The Sith explained, obviously believing that Galen would accept this. It stung to admit that Galen probably would have accepted this excuse if he had not spoken to his father's spirit. But because he had done, because he had promised to become a Jedi, he inspected Vader's words in his mind. They were hollow, he decided after a few moments, but he had better see where his former Master was going with this. He nodded once. Apparently that was good enough for Vader as he continued, "I would have you perform a task for me. There are dissidents within our Empire, but they hide from us. I want you to rally them together under a single alliance, a rebel alliance, so that they will occupy the Emperor's mind. Only then will we be able to strike."

For a moment Galen thought that this had to be some kind of a joke, even though he knew that Vader did not have a sense of humour. After all what were the odds that the mission Vader would give him was only a few steps away from being identical to the mission given to him by the Force itself as well as his father's spirit? Actually the odds were pretty good considering it was the Force itself involved. This meant that he would be able to fulfil his promise to his father and the Force while Vader would still think that he was a loyal follower of the Empire. Implications ran through his mind. He would be able to get insider knowledge on where to hit the Empire the hardest and it would all come from Vader. Swallowing up the bitterness that came from the action, Galen knelt on one knee before the hologram of his former Master,

"It shall be done… Master." He told Vader, almost spitting the last word out, "How will I find them? Where is my ship?"

Vader seemed to buy his act although Galen really didn't know how he had gotten away with it. Galen's acting was truly awful after all. But the mechanical Sith Lord merely nodded in acceptance of such a terrible acting performance,

"You will find a contact in Cloud City on Bespin." He revealed, startling Galen since that was the place the Force had directed him to find his first Master. Vader ignored the reaction, "Your ship is down in the hanger bay of this facility. The facility itself is on a collision course with a nearby star so you will have to be quick to escape, my apprentice."

Galen nodded in acceptance. It couldn't be a coincidence that his first Master and the person Vader knew would get him in contact with rebels were in the same place. He would be able to meet up with his first Jedi Master and begin his training as a Jedi rather than a Sith. Of course something came to his mind and his eyes immediately widened,

"Master…" he began tentatively, hating the feel of the world rolling off of his tongue, "Where is Juno Eclipse? She has been a most faithful and acceptable pilot."

He knew that Juno had been more than acceptable but to show any signs of the friendship he had been developing with his pilot would tip his former Master off. And the Sith were not above using relationships, of any kind, to cause their enemies pain. Vader seemed to regard Galen carefully for a few moments and Galen met his metal gaze. It was always rather intimidating to stare upon Darth Vader's mask, but right now Galen was more concerned for the safety of his friend than for the Sith's opinion of his staring competition skills. After a long few moments Vader spoke,

"Dead." He told Galen in the same automated voice as always. Galen felt the air rush out of his lungs, like he had just been punched in the gut, but managed to quickly mask his shock. Vader waved a hand dismissively, "Go now my apprentice… complete your mission."

With that dismissive motion the connection was cut and the form of Vader flickered before disappearing to reveal the metal body work of PROXY. Now sure that his former Master was not able to see him Galen scowled as he growled in anger. PROXY seemed to ignore this and his optical receptors lit up slightly brighter,

"Ah Master!" The droid cried as happily as its vocal module would allow, "I am happy to see that you are still running at optimal efficiency! Shall we make our way to the Rogue Shadow?"

Galen didn't want to get to the ship, despite learning that the facility was soon to be destroyed. He wanted to stay here for at least a moment longer, destroy some helpless computer monitors in an attempt to burn out his anger. But he knew he shouldn't do it. He took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, before slowly exhaling. To mindlessly destroy this room would be the action of a Sith, a student of the Dark side. But he was trying to become a Jedi, the Jedi that his father always knew that he could become. So instead he breathed deeply, breathed slowly, and slowly pushed his anger out of his mind. Instead he was filled with a sadness for having lost the first person he could honestly say he was friends with.

Without a word Galen turned and left the room, knowing that PROXY would follow him. Making his way quickly through the facility, Galen found the Rogue Shadow in the middle of the facility's docking bay. It was the only thing inside the docking bay area so it was hard to miss it. Galen kept expecting some remark from Juno about how she was going to get them a few light-years away from the facility or something. She always did try to make him lighten up a little bit. But back when he had the chance to get to know her he had been too focused on becoming a true Sith Lord, too focused on being Vader's secret assassin. He didn't know if she would approve of his decision to work towards becoming a Jedi or not but he liked to think that she would have done.

Even with the blinker of a Sith on he had seen that she was too good a person for the work she had done in the name of the Empire.

Entering the ship's cockpit he sat down in the co-pilots seat as PROXY perched in the pilot's chair, beginning the pre-flight checks with all the methodical efficiency of the droid that he was. Upon reflection, Galen had no idea why Vader had always insisted on giving him a living pilot. He could understand preferring Galen to spend his time in-flight training. But PROXY was perfectly capable of flying the ship to the best of the ship's capabilities. It took Galen a moment to realise that PROXY had been speaking to him,

"PROXY." He interrupted the droid, stopping him in mid-flow, "I zoned out for a moment, what are you talking about?"

PROXY seemed surprised to learn that Galen had zoned out. But then again, PROXY was a droid and he would probably never understand the feelings that Juno's death had stirred within him. The droid merely gestured to the small holographic star chart in front of them on the dash,

"I was merely inquiring as to our destination Master." He reiterated with the endless patience that only droids could ever have. The droid tilted his head to the side slightly, "Are you feeling unwell from your maintenance Master? If so please tell me, I am most anxious to fulfil my primary programming!"

Galen didn't know what PROXY's primary programming was exactly as it had been programmed into the droid by Vader. But judging from the context in which the droid mentioned it so often, Galen was led to believe that the droid's primary programming involved killing him. It would be just like Vader to work that into the droid who had been Galen's only friend growing up under Vader's instruction,

"I'm fine PROXY, just a lot on my mind." He told the droid before he thought about the destination. PROXY lifted off and guided the ship away from the facility as he thought about what he was going to find at their destination, "Destination is Cloud City, Bespin."

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing within this story. If you recognise something it belongs to George Lucas. Or is it Disney now? I forget to be honest. Either way, the important thing is that it's not owned by me.**

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* * *

A Destiny Altered – A Meeting in the Clouds

Galen watched the clouds streak by from his position in the co-pilots seat. He had tried to meditate through the journey but had found that instead he had merely reflected on the changes to his life. To most people that seemed like a good use of meditation time but to a Force user it was a complete waste of meditation. Meditation to a Force user was supposed to involve connecting to the Force, feeling it shift and flow around you to either heighten your anger or soothe you. Instead all he had done was think about his mission.

According to the Force he would find his first Master in the floating city in the clouds here on Bespin, who was also very likely to be the contact Vader was sure would get him involved with people wishing to rebel against the Empire. Honestly he didn't know how to feel about the whole thing. He was going to meet a Jedi and, for the first time since he had been very small, he was not going to attempt to kill them. As the landing platforms came into view he stood up from his seat and made his way to the training room.

He had to finish the pet project he had been working on before moving up to the cockpit for a little bit of a break. Sitting down at the bench he sighed. The problem he had been working on had not become any clearer when he left and returned with fresh eyes as it were. He was attempting to make himself a lightsaber, a Jedi lightsaber. That wasn't a problem. Galen could make a lightsaber with his eyes closed, using the Force, in under two minutes. The problem was that colour of the blade.

After seeing the blue blade in his vision he had been unable to even think of having a different coloured crystal for his lightsaber. But he didn't know how to achieve the colour that he had seen in his vision. PROXY had volunteered all of the blue lightsabers that he had stored within his body and Galen had raided the small box of 'sabers in the training room. Vader had quite the extensive collection of lightsabers and he had once told Galen that he only collected the lightsabers of Jedi he had personally known before the Jedi Purge. Honestly Galen wondered if there were any Jedi that his former Master had not known considering when he had handed the collection over to Galen, for practice, there had been over fifty lightsabers with blue crystals.

Fixing another blue crystal into place with a small 'snap' he sighed a little bit as he rapidly constructed the rest of the weapon. With the last piece of casing firmly in place, Galen held the weapon away from him before igniting his weapon. A blade of bright blue burst forth, humming peacefully as he examined it. It was a beautiful shade of blue, that was true, but it wasn't the shade he had been looking for. Deactivating the weapon he sighed as he mechanically began to open the weapon up again. Setting the crystal down in the large pile of tried crystals, he moved his hand over the dwindling supply of blue crystals he hadn't used before. He turned to look at the lightsaber hilt itself, inspecting it for any faults, when something akin to electricity shot up his arm upon touching one of the crystals.

Jumping a little bit in surprise, Galen turned back to the crystals he had not used, trying to figure out which one had caused the reaction. That reaction was something of the Force in nature. Perhaps the Force was trying to guide him to the crystal that he desired? He hoped that it was true but it may have just been wishful thinking on his part. Either way he lightly touched each crystal in turn until he touched a singularly unimpressive looking crystal… which promptly sent a surge of Force energy up his arm, causing him to immediately retract it.

Now that he had discovered the crystal that had reacted to him in such a way, Galen cautiously reached out. The feeling wasn't a jolt this time; it was more like a gentle trickle. It was constant but it wasn't forceful at all. Picking it up with the utmost care, he fitted it into the chamber of his lightsaber before securing it in place. Assembling the rest of the lightsaber around the crystal, Galen held it pointed away from him again. His thumb hesitated on the ignition switch for barely a second before he activated the weapon.

It was like the weapon from his vision had suddenly become a reality in that single second it took for the blade to form. The blue was just as vibrant and clear as he remembered from his vision. A welcome difference was that it didn't feel heavier than it should do, as it had done in the dream. Standing up slowly, Galen moved to the centre of the training room. He twirled the blade experimentally, finding that he much preferred the way that the blue of his blade blurred into the air around him.

A marked change from how his red lightsaber had seemed to bleed into the air whenever he moved quickly.

There was a subtle jolt throughout the ship, alerting Galen to the fact that the Rogue Shadow had landed on one of the landing pads. Deactivating his lightsaber, Galen clipped it to his belt as he pulled a hooded brown robe over his training gear. Putting the hood up just as PROXY entered the training area, he regarded the droid coolly. He was always slightly on edge around PROXY when they were both in the training area since the droid often tried to kill him here under the guise of 'training' when he had been in Vader's service,

"Master!" PROXY began, "We have touched down on the landing pad you requested. May I ask why it had to be this specific landing pad?"

Galen moved past PROXY as he collected a few things he might have to use when away from the ship. A grapple, a few thermal detonators and a spare com link to the ship. All of these things were the norm for when he was leaving the ship for a mission. But he felt like he was missing something important. As he was about to pass the work bench he spotted Rahm Kota's lightsaber on a small shelf above the work bench. It was the only lightsaber Vader had given him back since he had started hunting Jedi. Something whispered in the back of his mind, telling him that he would need the lightsaber for some reason. Without a second thought he clipped it to the other side of his belt as he passed,

"No reason really PROXY… just a feeling." He informed the droid, "Keep the ship safe PROXY. If anyone tries to ask you for landing permits or anything play dumb and say you're waiting for your Master to return."

The droid followed him to the edge of the exit ramp just as if was beginning to touch the ground of the landing pad,

"But I shall be awaiting your return Master." PROXY declared as if it was the simplest thing in the world, "I shall inform them of this since it is the truth."

Galen smiled faintly at the droid. Even if the droid was programmed to attack him with the intent to kill, PROXY was the closest thing had had to a friend before Juno came along. And, he supposed, PROXY was back to being his only friend again. Patting the droid on the back, Galen disembarked,

"Don't stay up too late for me PROXY." He joked with the droid, "I've got to track down someone who was stupid enough to pledge themselves to fighting for some rebel senator… so I'll be doing a lot of bar hopping."

* * *

He really had been joking when he told PROXY that he would be bar hopping a lot in order to find his contact but sadly it had become the truth. Each time he would enter the bar and search the place using the Force. He was looking for people strong with the Force and/or strong minded. Surprisingly enough it was a rather good tactic considering most of the bars' patrons were weak minded fools with no sense of what the Force was, let alone how to utilise it.

Another annoyance were the local mercenaries and those mercenaries who were relaxing in the bars around here. Apparently the bounty for Jedi that the Empire had put out years ago was still in effect as more than a few had attacked him just because they had caught glimpses of his lightsaber when he was walking. Since killing almost a dozen of them he had taken to using stealth instead, closing his robe uncomfortably tightly and keeping his hood pulled over his eyes. It was a poor attempt at stealth he realised but apparently it was enough for the local mercenaries.

Entering another bar, having used a very subtle mind trick on the bouncer, Galen glanced around. Looked like every other bar on this damned city if he was honest. Sighing a little bit he ordered himself a drink at the bar and sat himself down. He wanted to at least have a drink if this turned out to be another dead end. Reaching out with the Force, he almost dropped his drink when he actually felt something. Recovering, he sipped at his drink idly as he reached out further with the Force, touching each patron lightly in turn until he reached the one patron who was connected to the Force.

The term 'connected' was used loosely here as it seemed that this man, for it was a man, had tried to give up the Force. Swirling Force energies around him tried to enter the man as they would enter a Jedi but he was actively blocking them with one of the simplest methods. He was blind stinking drunk. When a Jedi was drunk, a feat in itself, their connection to the Force was greatly impeded. By getting as drunk as this man was it was like the Force was not available for them to use. Whoever the man was it was clear that he had some sort of problem with the Force. Or perhaps he had a problem with being a Jedi? It must have been a source of great pressure to be a Jedi with rebellious senators for friends, constantly asking you to risk your life to fight against an empire that had destroyed almost every other Jedi in existence in the space of only a few days.

Paying for the drink that he didn't finish, Galen stood up from the bar and began to make his way up to the second floor of the club. He was using the Force signature of the person to locate him through the throng of people dancing. Galen was even held up by a pair of Twi'lek women who seemed to think he was worth dancing up against. Very flattered, and more than a bit flustered, by the actions of the two enticing women, Galen politely told them that he couldn't stay and dance. When they had both pouted his hormones had urged him to reconsider but he ignored them. Instead he gave them the excuse that he had business to attend to so would be unable to spend enough time with them to treat them as they deserved. That got him a pair of pecks on the cheeks for his trouble and also cleared his path to the booth he wanted.

When he saw who was sitting at the table for the first time, with his eyes, he was more than a little bit surprised. This was honestly the last person he had expected to find here. And although he likely fit the criteria for being in contact with the rebels, Galen was certain that he was not the Master the Force had promised him. Rahm Kota, filthy and blind drunk, was slumped against the table of the booth, snorting as he drifted between being asleep and being awake. Galen honestly doubted there would be much difference in position considering how drunk the man was.

Of course Kota had told him, while Galen was trying to kill him, that he would be his Master someday and not Vader. At the time Galen had thought that the old man had been lying in an attempt to save his own skin. Now he wasn't so sure. He could doubt the old general's words to be sure. But could he doubt the words of the Force as spoken by the spirit of his father? No he couldn't. Rahm Kota was apparently to be his Master in the Jedi arts.

Said general chose that moment to fart, loudly.

Galen was really not looking forward to this.

Kicking the table, Galen kept an eye out for any obvious mercenaries close to the booth. They were about to talking about being Jedi. Considering it had taken only a half-caught glimpse of his lightsaber to be attacked before he was sure that if any heard this conversation there would be no end to the mercenaries and bounty hunters. Kota snorted a little bit before waking up, turning his head this way and that sightlessly as he absently rubbed at his wounds through the blindfold he now wore,

"Wha?" he snarled, his voice slurred and thick, "Whoever you are… I paid for this table! So buzz off!"

Deciding to go right for the jugular, Galen sat down in the booth a few feet away from Kota. He was going to tell the man to truth after all. And the truth was that he'd tried his very best to kill the old man not too long ago. Reaching down, he unclipped Kota's lightsaber from his belt under the table. Being discrete, he pressed the lightsaber into Kota's hand under the table. The aged Jedi accepted it without thought before he froze at the familiar object in his hand. A Jedi didn't need to be able to see to recognise his weapon; he merely had to hold it in his hand. Galen spoke quietly,

"I thought you might like that back General Kota." He whispered quietly, very aware that they could be overheard even in such a loud environment, "I was wrong to take it from you in the first place, I realise that now."

Kota was silent for a long time but Galen noticed that his grip on the lightsaber tightened in preparation for something. Whether it was to attack him or because he felt the need to defend himself Galen didn't know. Slowly, Kota's grip loosened on the lightsaber and he seemed to deflate with a sigh,

"Why are you here boy?" he demanded bluntly, sounding an awful lot closer to being sober, "Come to finish the job you failed to do at the factory? Vader was angry you failed no doubt."

To be honest Galen couldn't remember Vader being angry at the way he had dealt with Kota at the factory. So it was likely to Vader had absolutely no idea that Kota was alive at the time and had only come into this knowledge afterwards. As for the assumption that he was here to kill him, Galen couldn't fault him for the belief. He had attempted to kill him the last time they had met,

"I'm not here to kill you General. If I had been you would likely already be dead considering you current condition." He told Kota, watching the old man snort at the idea. Apparently he didn't agree. Galen ignored it for now, it wasn't important. Swallowing his nervousness, Galen thought about what he was going to tell Kota, "Vader betrayed me General."

Another snort. Apparently Kota didn't find the news at all surprising and, if he was honest with himself, Galen admitted that it wasn't surprising to an outsider. Kota turned to Galen, uncannily managing to seem to look Galen in the eyes despite the blindfold completely covering his ruined eyes,

"Betrayal is in the nature of the Sith. What did you expect boy? Your Master to suddenly warm up and give you a hug and a cookie?" he taunted Galen bitterly before shaking his head, looking back at the table again, "So your Master betrayed you… and? What do you want with me if you're no longer working for that rabid dog of a Sith?"

Galen could tell just by the tone that Kota was taking that he was unlikely to really want to fight the empire again just because he asked him to. It was time to bring out the big guns. Thankfully it was also the truth so Kota would be able to call upon the Force to validate his claims. Taking a deep, calming breath, Galen began to explain in greater detail,

"Vader stabbed me and sent me out into space through a window. I was dying… and then I woke up." He started but Kota didn't seem at all impressed. Here came the punch line though, "In the Jedi Council Room."

As expected Kota's head shot up at this information. If he had his eyes uncovered Galen was pretty sure they would have widened, sightless or not. Galen noticed the way that Kota's grip on his lightsaber tightened up again, his knuckles going white now he was gripping the weapon so very tightly. Deciding to continue before Kota could assume that he had somehow desecrated the Jedi Temple even more than it already had been, Galen spoke again,

"It was a vision General… a vision granted to me by the Force." He lowered his head slightly as he remembered the vision, "My father was there General… Kento Marek. He was a Jedi Knight Kota and he gave me a mission. The Force asked something of me. It asked me to overthrow the Empire for the sake of the oppressed."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Kota scoffed again. Galen was beginning to despair. There didn't seem to be anything that would get through Kota's drunken stubbornness. The General just shook his head with a bitter little smirk,

"You know what I think? I think your Master has sent me here to try and figure out who my contacts were." He announced, making Galen wince slightly as he knew he would have done just that if it hadn't been for the vision. Kota took another drink, "So either prove you were contacted by the Force with this mission or leave. I have some serious drinking to do."

Galen was quiet for a moment as he thought about how he would be able to convince Kota that he was telling the truth. This would be a heck of a lot easier if Kota could access the Force and just know if he was lying. But no the man had to be drunker than half the mercenaries in this whole city. In the end he simply turned to Kota,

"The Force told me something. It said that I was to come here to find my first Jedi Master." He told Kota, noting how the old man seemed to sit up a bit straighter at the news, "And back on the factory… you told me that you saw me as your student in the future. Well I'm here, right now, willing to be your apprentice. I'm here right now and I'm ready and willing to help you in the fight against the Empire."

Kota turned to Galen, despite the fact that he would not be able to see the boy. Without warning he lashed out with the Force, sending Galen tumbling head over heels out onto the rapidly clearing dance floor. Galen was shocked. Both that Kota would be able to use the Force when so drunk and that the Jedi was willing to attack him. Kota's lightsaber ignited as the General began to stalk towards Galen, sending most of the bar's population running. Galen reached towards his lightsaber to defend himself but paused when he felt a touch against his mind. It was the same whispering from when he had experienced his vision.

_No son… just wait._

The General was slowly making his way towards the kneeling Galen, making the younger Force user feel fear begin to well up in his gut. Swallowing his nerves and his fear, he sought calm from the Force and was easily provided with it. Grateful, he looked up at Kota as the older man stopped in front of him, his blade held casually at his side. Once again the whisper sounded in his mind, calming him further.

_Relax son. Feel peace._

Humming sounded near Galen's left ear as Kota rested his lightsaber close to his neck, poised to strike his head from his shoulders. Galen closed his eyes and tried to follow the instructions of his father. Moving his hand away from his lightsaber he clasped them in front of him and focused on feeling the Force, dipping his mind into the pleasant and healing stream of the energy. He was still afraid that he was about to die but he trusted his father, he trusted in the will of the Force. As Galen was preparing to feel the pain of dying he heard the last sound he ever expected to hear.

The sound of Kota's lightsaber being deactivated.

Uncertainly, Galen opened his eyes and slowly unclasped his hands. Looking up, he saw that Kota was looking at him with a puzzled expression. After a second their gaze connected. There was a moment, a single second, where Galen felt that Kota believed what he had said before. Kota clipped his lightsaber to his belt before hesitantly holding a hand out to help Galen up to his feet. Looking at the offer for a moment, Galen took the hand and stood. Standing opposite each other, Kota suddenly smirked,

"Only a Jedi is willing to become one with the Force like that." He declared with a conviction that Galen had never heard in the man's voice before, "I don't know what you are boy but you're not a Sith I know that much. And you are powerful, important."

Galen smiled a little bit in return, enjoying the warm feeling of approval that seemed to drift into him through the Force itself. He liked to think that it was a sign that his father was proud of him as well. Glancing around, Galen noted that the top floor of the club was now empty but there was commotion coming from the ground floor,

"What I am… I'm Galen Marek." He told Kota with a small grin. Casting his mind out with the Force, Galen noted that a large group of Mercenaries were currently trying to reach them. He glanced at Kota, who seemed to still be rather unsteady on his feet, "General you're in no condition for a fight. Get to landing pad eighteen, tell the droid that master Starkiller sent you; he'll let you on board. We'll talk then alright?"

Kota looked like he was about to protest before he wobbled on the spot slightly after trying to take a step forwards. Galen could tell that it was the alcohol hitting him again. He was honestly surprised that the General had managed to ignore the effects of the alcohol long enough to send him across the bar. In the end the General nodded,

"Alright I'll go to the ship…" he muttered before growling lightly at Galen as he began to move away, "But don't you dare die boy! We have a lot of work to do to make you into a Jedi and I can't do that when you're dead! I'm good but I'm not that good."

Galen sighed a little bit. He honestly wondered what he had gotten himself into. This sounded like it was going to be a long ride to the Temple after this place. But right now he had work to do. Igniting his lightsaber, Galen marched forwards to meet the oncoming horde of mercenaries.

* * *

Galen sighed a little bit as he spotted the Rogue Shadow not too far away in the distance just as he cut down the last mercenary in the last group to fight him. Deactivating his lightsaber for the time being, Galen kept it in his hand. Honestly it saved a lot of time now since every mercenary in the city had figured out that he was here and holograms of his appearance were already in circulation. But it wouldn't matter soon. Galen had fought his way through every club he had gone through to find Kota to get to this point; the last club before the landing pads.

He was literally one smoky, sentient-filled, room away from freedom from this damned planet.

Entering the club, Galen was very surprised to find that there were no mercenaries in the place, just regular looking patrons. And for some reason this seemingly peaceful scene gave him a very bad feeling. It just felt like there was something he was missing, like the Force was trying to warn him about some hidden danger. Holding onto his lightsaber, but keeping it hidden by his long sleeves, Galen cautiously began to make his way across the dance floor.

Half way to his destination the Force almost screamed at him to move and he responded in the same instinct, throwing himself forwards in a roll. It was a good call too as a dark red lightsaber blade had speared through the air where his head had been not two seconds ago. A dark hooded figure emerged from the crowd of panicking dancers, throwing some of them away with violent shoves. Dressed like one of the Emperor's imperial guards, but all in black, the figure was an imposing sight even before you took the weapon into consideration.

And what a weapon it was.

Now a lightsaber was plenty intimidating without any modification, Galen believed. After all in the hands of a skilled user it could deflect blaster bolts and cut through almost any metal or all but the strongest of shields. And the fact that it was perfectly capable of cutting almost any creature in two, from head to toe, added to the fear of the weapon. But the guard-lookalike, a saber-guard simply because he didn't know what to call him, had mounted a red lightsaber on a long metal pole to create a lightsaber spear or lance. This gave him a heck of a lot of reach on Galen's standard lightsaber.

Even as the dancers disappeared, running and hiding wherever they could, Galen ignited his lightsaber, the bright blue of his lightsaber earning some gasps from the patrons still looking on. Red lightsabers were more common than blue or green considering everyone knew that Vader, a very public figure, used one. But Galen was proudly wielding the weapon of a Jedi, a group that the patrons of the bar would have sworn dead not ten minutes ago. They hadn't gotten word of his presence apparently.

Without warning Galen sprinted forwards, deciding not to use the Force to increase his speed right now. He wanted to test his opponent's reflexes. After all, all the reach in the world meant nothing if you didn't react fast enough to capitalise on it. As he approached his opponent stabbed forwards towards Galen's face. Ducking ever so slightly, Galen felt the heat of the weapon against his cheek even as his blue lightsaber sparked against the metal of the spear to drive it away from him. As soon as the saber-spear was knocked aside Galen moved his lightsaber, slashing up towards the saber-guard's head. Showing impressive reflexes, the saber-guard managed to dodge the attack enough so that the only damage he sustained was to his helmet.

Not willing to move backwards considering he was too close to the man for the saber-spear's reach to be useful. He reversed his slash to slash downward, expecting the man to dodge backwards. Just as expected the man leant back from the attack. Halfway through the slash though Galen changed the attack into a stab, jabbing at the man's gut. The sickening smell of burning flesh and the disgusting sound of blood evaporating from the heat of the lightsaber. Before the saber-guard could even give a noise of pain, Galen pulled his lightsaber back and stabbed forwards again. It was with a grim sense of accomplishment that Galen noted that his lightsaber was now sticking straight through his opponent's head. It wasn't satisfaction. He didn't like the fact that he had speared a man through the head and fried his brain, he was just able to analyse it and see that he'd made a good move.

Three more lightsabers were ignited and Galen had to hold back a groan. If there was one thing that the Empire had on its side it was numbers. Half of the military might of the Empire was cloned after all. Easily replaceable and so very easily made in bulk. Turning, he held his lightsaber at the ready as he faced down the three new saber-guards. None of them had made a move though. They were waiting for something.

A thought struck Galen.

In lightsaber combat he might actually have a little bit of a problem with these guys if, when, they rushed him all at once. His skill with a lightsaber was great and he could defeat all of them one at a time easily. But they were unlikely to be so considerate. What struck him though was that his opponent had not once accessed the Force. Perhaps they were unable to. Deciding to put that theory to the test, Galen deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt.

His opponents paused for only a moment before they all charged at him, the middle saber-guard rushing forwards much faster than the other two. Galen watched his happen before he sprung his little trap. Before the saber-guard had made it even half way to him the saber-spear of Galen's first attack shot through the air through Galen's use of the Force. Caught in mid-run the saber-guard could do nothing and was impaled through the chest with the projectile, sending him tumbling onto his back from the force of the blow. Before either of his other attackers could do anything Galen was acting.

Using the Force had always come easily to Galen and his enemies were currently seeing his skill with it right now. Sending a Force push at both enemies, they were both thrown backwards a little bit, one falling to his knees. The one still standing tried to charge again but Galen gripped his saber-spear with the Force and suddenly moved it against the man's wish, spinning the weapon so that it cut straight into his mask. Moving onto the final opponent, Galen centred himself for only a second before sending a Force push at the man. Slamming against the wall of the club, the man was unprepared for the literal barrage of Force push attacks that Galen pummelled him with. The wall was beginning to crack so Galen gritted his teeth before sending one last Force push at the man.

The invisible ball of energy tore up the floor on its way to its target, throwing tables and generally creating debris. A strangled scream escaped the final saber-guard before the attack was on him, pushing him clear through the wall and into free-fall over Bespin. With the last of his attackers dealt with, Galen breathed a small sigh of relief and his shoulders sagged a little bit as he relaxed. Turning away from the scene of destruction and carnage, Galen was surprised to find that almost all of the patrons from earlier were standing there. By the wide eyes and open mouths and the excited chattering he imagined that they had been watching the whole thing.

Galen was uncertain about what to do. He had an audience now and even he knew that if he was just to leave it would be a waste. Captive audience and all that. Wracking his brain he ended up doing the first thing that came to his mind. Grabbing his lightsaber, he raised the weapon above his head,

"Death to the Empire!" he declared. The crowd chattered excitedly and there were murmurs of agreement. Deciding that he might be able to boost their rebellious spirit Galen decided to fan the flames, "Death to the Empire! The Empire that oppresses you!"

There was a much louder murmur of agreement at this. Bespin was a planet rich in resources, hence why the Empire had such an invested interest in it. And Imperial interest in a sector almost always meant occupation and oppression for the original inhabitants. Galen could see that the majority of the crowd was agreeing with him so he decided for one last push,

"Death to the Empire that demands you obedience and gives you nothing but pain in return! Death to the Empire that occupies your worlds!" he continued, getting into his role now, "And death to the Emperor who keeps you all afraid! Death to the Empire! Freedom for the people!"

A general roar of approval was his answer to that and Galen couldn't help but smile as several groups of mercenaries in the crowd were agreeing with him too. Armed members of the public with rebellious thoughts, now that would be a pain in the Empire's ass. Clipping his lightsaber back to his belt he made his way through the crowd. The positive emotions that the crowd was almost bleeding into the Force around him made Galen feel slightly dizzy. Clearing the crowd, giving them one last wave, he exited the club and made his way onto his landing pad.

Kota was waiting for him near the Rogue Shadow's entry ramp, looking amused but also impatient. Galen smiled a little bit sheepishly. Apparently Kota had managed to get the gist of what had happened in the club. Entering the ship with Kota, Galen raised an eyebrow when he noticed that PROXY's power cells had been disconnected. Kota seemed to sense what Galen had been thinking,

"He was annoying me." The General defended, "Kept saying that I shouldn't be drinking on the ship. Damned droid…"

Using the Force, Galen snatched the bottle of booze out of Kota's hand and sent it flying out the ramp just before it closed. He smirked a little bit as he readied the ship for take-off, strapping himself into the pilot seat. Defeated, Kota slumped into the co-pilot's seat,

"So then boy… where are we going?" he asked, amused, "You haven't asked me where my contact is yet so I know we're not meeting up with fellow rebels."

Galen chuckled a little bit as the ship cleared the atmosphere. Punching in the co-ordinates for the jump to hyper-space he gripped the controls,

"We're going to the Jedi Temple."

The Rogue Shadow juddered once before making the jump to hyper-space.

* * *

**Second chapter for you guys ^^**

**By the time you read this I should have the third chapter ready to fire at you so keep a look out for it yeah? ^^  
I'm thinking weekly updates won't be too hard for me to manage at the moment but don't hold me to that yeah? :P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing within this story. If you recognise something it belongs to George Lucas. Or is it Disney now? I forget to be honest. Either way, the important thing is that it's not owned by me.**

**Note: I am currently incredibly annoyed at my computer as I had finished this chapter about Monday time. Might have been early Tuesday morning. But I had finished it, it was done, everything was spell checked and ready… and now it's all gone. Annoyingly enough for you guys, I have Chapter Four done but due to a failure and lost work… I have to redo this at the last possible moment to meet my deadline. Hope it's alright still though :) **

* * *

A Destiny Altered – Hidden in the Dark

Galen was beginning to get annoyed with his new Master and was actually contemplating hitting the old man.

Hard.

In the face.

With his lightsaber.

This lack of focus earned him a smack to the back of the head by Kota, who was circling Galen as he attempted to connect to the Force, in a gentle way, faster. Galen had absolutely no difficulty in connecting to the Force but Kota had observed him doing so and almost immediately attacked the younger man with one of the nearby training sticks. Apparently when Galen touched the Force he did so with the grace of Hutt's ballroom dancing technique. Galen had actually been rather impressed at his Master's analogy at the time but after a while he realised just how maddening it was to actually try to control the way he touched the Force.

It had taken him hours of meditation to touch the Force in a gentle enough manner for Kota to be even vaguely satisfied with it. And then the bastard had proceeded to beat him with a wooden stick every time he didn't do so fast enough for Kota's liking. To be fair it was a great way for reaching the Force in a Jedi-like manner while being under stress but you would have thought that it was a teaching method much more in tune with the Dark Side. In reality it actually strengthened the Jedi's connection to the Light.

After all, if you could push your pain away from you into the Force while touching the Force in such a light and gently manner then you would be able to push your anger and pain away easier in battle. This would help him to avoid turning back to the Dark Side and he hoped that he was strong enough to stay away from it. His thoughts had drifted onto this line of thought and Kota recognised this, beaning him on the head with the stick again,

"Damn it boy, focus!" he growled in his usual, gruff and annoyed, manner, "How do you expect to resist the Dark Side when fighting Vader if you can't work on this simple calming exercise?"

Galen couldn't help but shoot back,

"You know I doubt that the Jedi Master back in the days of the Order would hit their students with a stick." He groused, "Maybe that has something to do with it!"

Kota laughed a little bit and bonked him on the head with the stick again. Muttering to himself as Kota continued to chuckle, Galen reached towards the Force as faster as he could while still being gentle. He did this repeatedly for what felt like hours without being hit with the stick. Honestly he was beginning to think Kota had taken the chance to leave the room and scrounge up some more alcohol from somewhere.

Honestly, Galen had no idea where the hell it was all coming from.

It was only after he had connected to the Force at speed, once again, that he decided to check on his Master. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find Kota not only still in the room but still pacing around him. Slowly relaxing out of the lotus position, Galen groaned a little bit as he worked out his muscles. He looked up at Kota just as the old man started to speak,

"It might not have been the way of the Jedi Masters of the Order but it had always been my way to training Jedi." He told Galen in a much softer tone of voice than he normally used, "I had a padawan learner during the war… I taught that boy everything I knew about strategy and fighting war. He soaked it all up like a sponge… like you. But the one thing he could never get right, no matter how hard he tried or how hard he pushed. And that was touching the Force, gently, at speed. Just you were having…"

There was a pregnant, awkward, pause where neither of them moved and neither of them said anything. The only sound was the hum of the engines as they travelled through hyperspace. After a few moments, Kota spoke again,

"But for the past thirty minutes you've connected to the Force gently, and at speed, no less than one hundred times." He mused aloud, surprising Galen who had not been keeping count, "It makes me wonder though. You and he are so alike and I can't help but wonder… is it because I'm pushing you harder? Did I not give enough time to training him like I'm giving you? Was… Was it my fault, in the end?"

Unsure of what to say or do, Galen felt incredibly awkward as Kota turned his sightless gaze to a wall, seemingly staring straight through it. Not liking how his Master's Force signature was now radiating sorrow, Galen walked over to Kota and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. Kota jumped slightly, having been so lost in his thoughts. He turned to Galen and the apprentice smiled faintly,

"Kota I don't know anything about your padawan. I don't know if he enjoyed flying, I don't know if he was a vegetarian and I don't know if he used to pull pranks to try and liven you up." He told his Master, getting a small chuckle from the man. Becoming serious, Galen gave his Master's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "But I do know you. And I know he would have been very happy to have you as his Master and glad of all your training. In the end… it could never be your fault."

There was another one of those pregnant pauses that Galen was beginning to dislike very much. He would hate them but he was trying to be a good Jedi and a good Jedi doesn't hate anything, much less awkward silences. Kota nodded once, a small smile on his weathered old face,

"Thanks boy." He grunted, his usual gruff demeanour back, causing Galen to smirk faintly, "But don't think you're done just yet! Now here comes the good stuff… I'm going to see if you have what it takes to learn Battle Meditation. It's a handy Force power but I warn you… you're not going to like the training!"

Kota was right; Galen did not like the training.

* * *

Getting down to the bowels of the Jedi Temple, to its sub-levels, was actually rather easy for Kota and Galen. The average stormtrooper was about as much threat to them as a bantha was to a rancor. When they had cut down the last of the white armoured figures they had descended into the depths of the sub-levels. And almost immediately been assaulted by the very odd sensation of being watched.

Kota had assured Galen that it was probably just some old surveillance cams but Galen was not convinced. It felt more… alive than a surveillance cam, for lack of a better word. Like it was following them rather than watching over the whole area. The area itself was enough to make Galen begin to feel a little confined. It was basically a maze of corridors with small and large rooms behind locked doors.

As they went deeper and deeper down the feeling of being watched began to lessen but not disappear, as if they were instead being watched from a larger distance. After only a few feet it became clear to Galen why anyone following them had stopped. The Dark Side energies swirling around this area of the sub-levels was suffocating. He choked a little bit and he saw that Kota seemed to be gagging on it. To Force sensatives of the Light, Dark Side energies were extremely unpleasant and repulsive.

Turning to the source of the Dark Side energy, which seemed to be one of the little rooms, Galen noticed that the door, unlike most others, was labelled,

"Who in Force's name is Exar Kun?" he muttered, edging away from the doorway, "I thought you said only objects were stored down here? It feels like theirs a Sith Lord in there…"

Kota coughed a little bit and pulled at Galen's robes. Following his Master's command, Galen began to move away from the room. It was only after they had been walking for a good half an hour that the Dark Side energies seemed to dim enough for them to breathe normally again. Groaning a little bit, Galen rested against one side of the corridor and Kota did the same on the other,

"Exar Kun was a Jedi who fell to the Dark Side." He explained with a little groan, "He led an army of Sith and other enemies of the Republic in a war against the Jedi and the Republic. It was called the Great Sith War and it engulfed the entire galaxy… it was even part of the reason for the Mandalorian Wars beginning when they did."

Galen was listening intently to the background of Exar Kun. In comparison, Vader was nothing but an apprentice. And that was just the residue that lingered on the items that the Jedi had dared to take from wherever they had defeated Exar Kun. He paused for a moment and blinked. Mandalorian. That was the area of the sub-level that the Force had told him to visit,

"Mandalorian Wars?" he questioned, getting a tired nod from Kota. The old general was acting his age for the first time since Galen had met him. Shaking his head a little bit, he continued, "The Force directed me to a section that was named Mandalorian. Did the Jedi have anything to do with the Mandalorian Wars?"

Groaning a little bit, Kota rubbed at where his eyes were behind the bandages he wore. He hummed a little bit in thought before nodding,

"Yes… yes there was a split in the Order as to whether or not they should join the war to help defend the Republic." He admitted before his frown deepened, "In fact the rebellious faction was led by a Jedi Knight named Revan… he was a prodigy in all areas of the Force. He wanted the Jedi to join the Republic in the fight but the council of the time refused. Said that the Jedi were peacekeepers first and foremost."

Unable to stop himself, Galen pointed out,

"But the Jedi were Generals in the Clone Wars." He argued, "Did the Order's position change so radically?"

Kota laughed a little bit,

"Boy the Mandalorian Wars happened almost four thousand years ago! Change over that length of time isn't radical at all." He argued with a smirk before it diminished slightly, "Revan went to war anyway, taking a lot of Jedi who thought the same way. Almost single-handedly, Revan led the Republic to victory over a vastly superior force. Then… well then it gets pretty vague. But apparently Revan came back to the Republic as a Sith Lord. Wait, it gets stranger. He was betrayed by his apprentice and the Jedi took him in. Then, for some reason, Revan had a change of heart and joined up with the Jedi again to defeat the Sith Empire that he had unleashed upon the Republic."

There was silence for a long time as Galen processed what he had been told and Kota just rested, apparently not used to story time. Kota signalled for them to get moving and Galen followed a little bit behind his Master. Door after door passed them by as they continued to walk and Galen continued to ponder on what he had learnt.

The Mandalorian Wars had been a time of great upheaval for both the Republic and the Jedi Order. But he was unsure what the Force was trying to suggest he needed there. It had said he would find his second Master in the form of a holocron and hologram droid. But what could he learn from a Mandalorian that he would need to win this rebellion against the Empire? He wasn't going into this war with masses of highly trained soldiers from a warrior society after all. And no Mandalorian would be able to help him with the Force or matters of being a Jedi.

It hit Galen like a ton of bricks and he stopped walking suddenly.

Kota didn't noticed anything wrong with his latest 'padawan' because the Force whispered to him that they had arrived at the right door. And because he was blind he didn't see that Galen was gaping slightly,

"Here we are then boy…" he muttered gruffly, "You said it was a holocron and a droid like the annoying one you own? Hope it's someone good."

Swallowing nervously, Galen opened the door and was instantly aware of the strong Force residue in the room. It saturated the air, making it harder to breathe but much easier to tap into the Force. And the Force was whirling around this room, like it was watching over it. Galen looked dead ahead at the main attraction in the room.

A set of black armoured robes with a black and red mask.

While the Force residue from most of the items in the room was completely neutral, an oddity in itself, the clothes were almost dripping with the Dark Side. It was just as powerful as the Dark Side residue of Exar Kun's room but it was a lot more concentrated, so that only the clothes were affected. Galen was sure that if he attempted to wear the robes he would find it a constant battle not to welcome the Dark Side back into his life.

Tearing his eyes away from the robes even as Kota observed them much more carefully through the Force, Galen noticed a hologram droid almost immediately. Moving over to it, he admitted that it did look remarkably like PROXY. Of course his droid was better equipped but still, it was very impressive technology for being almost four thousand years old. Good condition too. He activated the droid and raised an eyebrow when all that happened was that a small compartment in the chest opened.

Looking around, Galen spotted what appeared to be a glowing white box. He had spent enough time in briefings with his former Master to know what a Jedi holocron looked like. Picking it up carefully, he examined it. Seeing that it was the exact shape and size of the cavity in the droid's chest, Galen carefully guided it into the droid before closing it up and rebooting the droid.

Almost immediately the droid's frame began to shake as it powered up. Not trusting a four thousand year old droid not to explode, Galen took several steps back from it. In the end though the droid didn't explode, instead it flashed brightly with white light before a holographic image of a man became visible.

The man was tall but not overly so, matching Kota was height. His skin was paler than anyone's should have any right to be though and his brown hair was pulled back away from his face, showing he had high cheek bones and a strong jaw. If that were all then the man would have been considered handsome but his face was marred by a series of scars. Mainly there were circular scars that were connected by a single, thin, scar that connected them all.

Glancing to the side slightly, Galen looked at the red and black mask. The mask that oozed anger and hatred but still had more concentrated within it. He turned back to the man, who was currently looking himself over, Galen noticed that the facial scars were the same shape as the mask, as if the mask had been attached so hard to his face that it had left scars. Kota was stood beside Galen now, having noticed that the droid had been activated,

"So who is it boy?" he asked casually enough but Galen could tell he was nervous, "Who's your second Master?"

Galen could have glared at Kota right then because his words had caught the attention of the holographic man, who raised a single eyebrow before moving over to the clothes. As the man looked forlornly at the clothes, Galen glanced at Kota,

"I think…" he paused as the holographic man touched the robes lightly before the jumpsuit he had been wearing was replaced by the black armoured robes. Galen gritted his teeth slightly as the holographic man became infinitely more imposing just by appearing in the robes, "I think the holocron was made to be of Revan."

The holographic man looked up at them as if they had finally said something that he had been waiting for them to say for a while now,

"You think?" he asked, his voice holding a certain steel to it even though he was speaking casually, "I take it that you've come down here and activated the droid – me – without consulting the Masters… oh you boys have more stones than any Knight in my time."

It was odd to see the man who had been a Dark Lord of the Sith almost four thousand years ago walking around and joking with them, Galen decided. Kota raised an eyebrow, an action visible even though he was still wearing his blindfold,

"We would have consulted the Masters… if the Jedi Order had any left." He told the droid, sounding very bitter now, "We were guided here by the Force, that we might find a second Master for the boy."

Revan raised an eyebrow in amusement before turning to look at Galen. Suddenly Galen had the feeling that he was being scrutinised in every possible way. It might have just been a trick of the hologram but Galen could have sworn that Revan was staring a hole straight through him. After an uncomfortable few seconds, Revan's eyebrow lowered and his expression became a little bit more serious,

"I can tell by his posture, and yours, that this is a matter of grave importance to you. First let me ask… what is the date?" He acknowledged, beginning to pace slightly when Galen told him the date. Revan whistled a little bit as he paced, "Almost four thousand years… and you say there are no Masters to seek permission from? Has the Jedi Order been fractured and weakened like it was by my invasion of the Republic?"

Galen thought about the best way to condense recent history for Revan. He wasn't sure if the man would be happy or angry about what had happened to the Jedi Order or to the Republic. In the end he decided to go with honesty,

"There was a war, the Clone Wars, in which the Republic fought against the Separatists, who threatened the Republic with their droids. The Republic got an army of cloned soldiers to combat the droids and the Jedi agreed to lead them into battle." He told Revan, who gave a barely perceived nod for him to continue. Galen sighed, "The Jedi were betrayed. A Sith Lord, Darth Sideous, had infiltrated the senate to become the Supreme Chancellor. And when he had taken a Jedi Knight as his Sith Apprentice he ordered the execution of all the Jedi, using the massive clone armies to defeat the entire Jedi Order at once. And reorganised the Republic as the first Galactic Empire."

Whatever reaction Galen had been expecting it was not what he got from Revan. A picture of calm throughout the tale, the last sentence caused Revan to growl in anger. Revan paced faster, back and forth, before he roared and lashed out, punching a dent into the solid metal wall. Both Kota and Galen jumped away from the holographic man, lightsabers out and ignited. Revan turned back to them and held up his hands,

"Sorry. My emotions got the better of me, I'm fine now." He assured them, only lowering his hands when Galen and Kota extinguished their lightsabers, "But you have to understand… as a young man I went to war to uphold the principles of the Republic, of democracy. I fell to the Dark Side because I was willing to do anything to defend it. Even my return as a Sith Lord… I aimed to defeat the Jedi. So that the Republic would not rely on them! So that the Republic would be strong without the Jedi Order pulling them into another war."

His reasoning for his fall to the Dark Side and his invasion of the Republic made a certain kind of sense to Galen. Galen paused for a moment,

"Revan…" he began, getting the man's attention, "I was the apprentice of one of the two Sith Lords who controls this Empire. But I received a vision from my father and the Force itself gave me the mission to form a rebellion against the Empire. To overthrow it for all the trillions who suffer under its rule. I was directed here… the Force told me that you would be my second Master, that you would help teach me how to become a Jedi worthy and capable of leading a rebellion to restore the Republic."

Revan once again fixed Galen with the stare that made him feel like his was under a microscope. It was maddening that Galen was having to release his fear into the Force just because the man was looking at him like that. He wasn't even a man, he was a hologram layered over a droid frame. But still, the man was intimidating. After a few moments, Revan nodded,

"Alright." He agreed simply, causing Kota to slap his hand to his face and Galen's left eye to twitch slightly. It was a very anti-climactic answer after all. Chuckling a little bit, Revan shrugged, "Hey it's not that hard of a choice for me. I fought for the ideals of the Republic in my life and now, after my death, I will be able to aid it's rebirth."

Kota and Galen both let out a sigh of relief. That meant that their mission for the Force was a success and Galen was one step closer to being a good enough Jedi to lead a rebellion against the Empire. Curious, Galen glanced around the room,

"So what would you be teaching me?" he asked, knowing that he would be unable to teach him about the Force considering he had no connection to it now that he was a droid, "Tactics and things like that?"

Scoffing at the idea that he would be teaching only tactics and 'things', Revan shook his head in dismay,

"And things… these things including swordsmanship, lightsaber forms, better lightsaber construction, unarmed combat, blaster combat, echani fighting styles, political skills, the art of persuasion and public speaking." He rattled off, smirking when Galen looked at his disbelievingly, "Boy I am going to turn you from a Jedi into a leader of men and women. By the time I declare you ready, you will be able to convince a man that killing his son is what he's always wanted to do. You will be able to inspire suicidal bravery with but a flick of your wrist. I will teach you how to use the corrupt system to your advantage. Boy I will teach you how to work yourself into the hearts and minds of those around you, ensuring their unending and undying loyalty to you and only you. And the best part of it all?"

There was a pause where Revan just smirked,

"You will do it all without even needing to use the Force." He told Galen, "You will do it all without compromising your integrity as a Jedi. I will teach you not how to intimidate and scare people into fighting for you… I will teach you how to inspire men, women and even droids to fight, and die, by your side."

* * *

**And there we go! ^^  
Chapter three… written out almost as long as it was originally in…  
*checks clock*  
Five hours :P**

**To be honest it only ever needed to be this long in the first place so :P  
Anyway, for those of you who wanted more romance, the romance will begin to become clear in the next chapter ^^  
If you can't wait, all I'm going to say is that a lot of Galen's allies are going to be women and a handful will be lodging with him, Revan-droid, PROXY and Kota on the Rogue Shadow so you can be sure that there will be tension! ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing within this story. If you recognise something it belongs to George Lucas. Or is it Disney now? I forget to be honest. Either way, the important thing is that it's not owned by me.**

**Note: I've been asked if there will be a love interest for Galen, taking into account that Juno is most likely dead after all. The answer is that, yes, Galen will have some romance in his life. Many of his female allies will be attracted to him, to varying degrees, so soon you will have the chance to vote on who he ends up with. I hope this appeases you all ^^**

* * *

A Destiny Altered – Lost Souls of the Jedi Order

Galen was getting annoyed now and he knew that Jedi were not supposed to get annoyed and that was annoying him even more. To be honest, right now Galen was considering going full Sith and striking down both of his so-called Masters. As soon as the projection of Revan had accepted him as his apprentice, Kota had been arguing with the ancient Jedi about philosophy of the Force. It was just going around in circles if he was honest and the frustrating thing was that he could tell that both men held a certain amount of respect for each other.

They were both men of war and they respected each other for their accomplishments in battle, to the point where there had been times when Galen had classed the whole thing as a 'pissing match' like bounty hunters indulged in. It was just incredibly undignified for a grown Jedi and a Jedi who had once been both a Jedi Knight and a Sith Lord. To be honest it was also rather enlightening. If these two men were this childish Galen had no idea what kind of secret personality quirks other powerful figures had.

Did Vader play with toy starships when no one was watching?

Did the Emperor read trashy romance data-pads?

That last thought made him shudder, almost retch too, when he remembered that most trashy data-pads had sex scenes in explicit detail. Galen didn't want to know what either of the Sith Lords spent their private time doing because he was damned sure the images alone would cause him to seek out a way to end his own life. As the three of them made their way out into the ruined entrance hall of the Jedi Temple, Galen sighed in relief. Both from being away from the creepy sub-levels and at knowing that the Rogue Shadow wasn't too far away. With any luck his two Masters would separate when they were on the ship.

What Galen also noticed was that the strange feeling of being watched, a feeling he had grown accustomed to in the sub-levels, had disappeared. This was more than a little bit strange but perhaps it made a certain sort of sense. If it had been something the Jedi Order had set up to monitor the sublevels then the feeling wouldn't continue once they were free from the restricted section of the Temple. He turned to tell his Masters his thoughts when he heard it.

The sound of lightsaber striking against lightsaber.

Instantly both Kota and Revan ceased their talking and adopted serious expressions, Kota's lightsaber moving into his hand quickly through the use of the Force. Although he didn't have a lightsaber, Revan seemed to be ready for battle. His stance had sunken down subtly and his eyes were moving cautiously around the room. Galen's own lightsaber leapt to his hand. He resolved to have Revan pick out a lightsaber or two from his collection when they were back on the Rogue Shadow. Even though he was just a projection of memories and personality, Galen was sure that Revan would still be skilled with the weapon.

As one the three moved further into the ruined entrance hall, hugging close to a downed pillar when it became apparent by the increased volume that the fighters were on the other side of the rubble. Galen listened intently and his eyes rose a little bit when he realised from the grunts of exertion that there were only two combatants, and that they were both female. He moved himself slowly to the corner of the pillar but before he could glance around the corner Kota's hand on his shoulder stopped him,

"Wait boy." He urged in a whisper, seemingly concentrating very hard, "I sense that both of them are familiar to me. One should not be here but is light… the other is dark but… but more by confusion and circumstances than choice. Boy… support the togruta woman!"

Galen was more than a little bit confused but if working with Vader had taught him anything over the years it was that he had to obey his Master. He glanced around the corner of the pillar and blinked once. A togruta woman, who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, was wielding a green lightsaber in a reverse grip as she defended against the ferocious attacks of a dark skinned human woman of about the same age. Since the human woman was attacking viciously with a red lightsaber and Kota had been right about the light being in the togruta, Galen decided that now was a good time to intervene.

As the red blade of the human woman came slashing down towards the togruta's hasty over-head defence, Galen made his move. The Force slammed into the side of the human, picking her up and sending her crashing into another nearby pillar. Almost instantly the togruta was on guard, unsure about his intentions he was sure. He ignited his lightsaber, the bright blue colour calming her slightly,

"Relax; I'm here to help you." He tried to tell her before he swore, "Pay attention to your surroundings damn it!"

The human woman was back again, this time trying to cut the togruta down the centre with a malicious leaping strike. But the togruta wasn't going to react in time to stop the attack. Gritting his teeth, Galen used the Force and leapt up to meet the woman's attack, surprising her greatly if the way her eyes seemed to bulge was any indication. His blue lightsaber smashed into her red blade, sending the two of them spinning to the ground. Galen was able to land it, skidding backwards slightly, but on his feet. The human woman wasn't so lucky and she bounced once or twice before she righted herself.

Of course by the time she had righted herself both Galen and the togruta were rushing at her from different angles. She seemed to deem that Galen was more of a threat because she spun around to slam her blade down against his, surprising him with the force behind the blow. Before the togruta could capitalise though, the human woman kicked out, slamming her heel into the orange woman's gut, driving the air from it. The red blade sailed through the air towards the reeling orange woman, lifting from Galen's blue blade in a fraction of a second.

Green and red locked together as Kota decided to make his presence known, blocking the attack meant for the orange alien woman. Before the dark skinned human could counter, Galen lashed out with the Force, once again sending the woman flying backwards. Through impressive control of the Force the human woman managed to regain control and come to a gentle stop before her back could hit another piece of rubble. All four combatants seemed to decide that now was a good time to get their bearings.

Galen moved into his ready position, his saber held out wide to his right with his left hand at the ready for any Force attacks he would have to perform. To his surprise the human woman mirrored his stance. There weren't many who learnt the violent seventh form of lightsaber combat but it seemed that both Galen and the woman were proficient in it; her control of the form before was much better than a novice after all. Without warning Galen sprinted forwards, using the Force to aid his movements. The woman did likewise and rushed at him, her lightsaber held high where his was almost trailing on the ground.

With a colossal spray of sparks their lightsabers clashed as his upwards slash met her downward swing. Both had put a tremendous amount of force behind the blows but Galen had more strength in his body than the woman so she was the one who was forced backwards. Not willing to give up any kind of ground to a woman this skilled in lightsaber combat, Galen pursued her relentlessly. He slashed down at her hasty guard, sending her stumbling backwards from the vicious force of the attack. Again and again he hacked and slashed at her, his form looking random and overly powerful to an outsider but to a master of lightsaber combat his form was excellent.

The seventh form of lightsaber combat was about attack, constant and ferocious attack. It wasn't for defence, as the woman was obviously feeling; it was about inflicting as much damage as possible without caring if you killed your opponent. But once of the dangers of the form was that you focused your entire body and perception on attacking with your lightsaber. Hence why Galen didn't sense it when the woman called a piece of rubble to her with the Force, blindsiding him with it as it smashed against his side, sending him skidding across the ground as it had gotten him right in the ribs.

Before she could capitalise on his weakness however, both Kota and the togruta were upon her. What surprised Galen was that they seemed to be fighting in sync, albeit in a slightly sloppy way, as if they had fought together before but a long time ago. Trying to pull himself up to his feet, Galen swore as pain flared all along the right side of his rib cage. He must have broken at least one or two ribs with that mistake. Feeling a hand pulling him up to his feet, Galen turned to see that Revan was helping him up,

"Get up apprentice." He commanded, causing Galen to immediately move to do as he said. Revan nodded once to Galen, "You did well. The seventh form is difficult to use and you were fighting a master of its usage. She has more experience than you, especially in fighting another seventh form user, if my estimations are correct."

Galen was confused by the way that Revan was talking to him. His confusion must have shown on his face because his second Master explained,

"You should not be ashamed in your performance." He reasoned, "You fought an opponent, with more experience, at her own game and survived. With more experience you can be a magnificent lightsaber duellist."

Shaken up a little bit by Revan's words, Galen blinked a little bit and looked down at his now extinguished lightsaber. He had always thought that his skill with a lightsaber was good but to have Revan, a man he understood to have been a prodigy in almost every form of the Jedi arts, compliment his skills made him glow proudly. After a moment he pushed the pride down. Pride came before the fall after all and Jedi were encouraged to push down any strong feelings of personal pride for just such a reason. Galen grimaced slightly as he watched the fight now going on without him. But with his ribs broken like this he would be more of a hindrance than a help to Kota and the togruta.

All the same, the dark Jedi seemed to be getting the upper hand in the duel despite the fact that she was outnumbered. Her form was perfect, Galen realised with a little bit of annoyance. Not a single movement was wasted and each and every movement was designed to cause damage to her opponents. Now that he had time to examine her fighting style, Galen found that the togruta had a lot of holes in her fighting style. He frowned a little bit,

"The togruta… her form isn't that great." He commented quietly as he watched the battle going on in front of him, "She's relying almost exclusively on her reactions… she hasn't got anywhere near the same amount of experience as either Kota or the Sith woman. She's not even as experienced as me… why is that?"

Revan had been stoically watching the battle from the beginning and Galen had no doubt that the projection had picked that up a lot sooner than Galen himself had. He glanced down at Galen before nodding a little bit,

"I've managed to use my droid framework to gain access to the Temple archives. A lot of them are destroyed but not personal records." He revealed to his apprentice, "She is Ahsoka Tano, former Jedi padawan learner to Anakin Skywalker. Seems she was expelled from the order on charges that were then revealed to be false. The reason why her style is not as polished as yours and Kota's is that she was never fully trained. The opponent… all I have is her name. Depa Billaba."

As the fight progressed it became clear that Kota and the togruta, Ahsoka, were outclassed. It seemed that this fighter, this Depa Billaba, was strong enough to be classed as a Jedi Master in both Force power usage and lightsaber combat. When she disarmed Ahsoka and sent her flying, Galen caught the orange female with the Force before she could hit the nearby pillar. However there was enough energy behind the attack that he was unable to stop all of it and Ahsoka was still hurt by the attack. Levitating her over to him and Revan, Galen set her down on the ground. She groaned a little bit,

"Damn… you would have thought that being in a coma would have slowed her down. Maybe it did though. Maybe I've gotten rusty…" she muttered, not really noticing Galen until she had spoken, "Oh, thanks for the save back there. Still hurt but I have a feeling I'd be dead if you hadn't caught me like that."

Galen smiled a little bit at the praise for doing something good. He had never received praised from anywhere for showing compassion and he found that it was an action that he quite liked. Looking down into her green eyes he smiled comfortingly, causing the slightly older Ahsoka to turn away slightly,

"It's not a problem for a fellow Jedi." He told her before he glanced up at the battle, "Oh no… Kota!"

As both Galen and Ahsoka turned back to the battle it had reached yet another decisive moment. Kota jumped back to avoid receiving a strong slash across his stomach that would have opened his guts completely. But at the last second Depa revealed that the attack had been a feint, the real attack was a piece of rubble smashing against the side of Kota's head. It wasn't sharp and the damage wasn't that great but it succeeded in allowing Depa to land a light slash across Kota's chest, causing him to drop his lightsaber as he fell to the ground.

Depa prepared to deliver a final blow to the downed Kota when she suddenly had to roll to the side, avoiding the kick sent by a very calm-looking Revan. What surprised everyone, including Depa, was that Revan had managed to escape all of their notice and attack before he was even detected. Even more surprising was that Revan was unarmed, only slipping into a loose ready stance for what Galen recognised as being an echani ready position. Using the Force, Galen pulled the wounded Kota over to where he and Ahsoka were recovering. Leaving Ahsoka to care for the general, a task she took to with enthusiasm, Galen focused on the battle that was now between Revan and Depa.

Angered by the emergence of another challenger, Depa charged at Revan with the intent to cut him from head to toe with her lightsaber. With careless ease, Revan side stepped the furious downward slash. When Depa's momentum carried her slightly past him, Revan spun around her and simply pushed her forwards with one hand. As Depa recovered and snarled at Revan, Galen was busy being surprised. Apparently Revan had been a prodigy in more than just the Jedi arts. Was it possible that he was actually a prodigy in all arts concerning war? It made sense considering his reputation.

Once again Depa attacked, just as furiously but with caution that had not been there before. Stepping back from the slash sent at his face, Revan barely moved to the left and right to avoid the rapid stabs and thrusts she made in an attempt to run him through on her blade. Depa was getting angrier and angrier and her form was getting stronger as the seventh form was designed to work well with anger. Seemingly sensing that she was only going to get more dangerous, Revan stepped the fight up a notch and actually began to attack.

Immediately the fight swung in Revan's favour, with each punch and kick landing at damaging areas that were sending the woman reeling. Revan finished the fight rather anti-climactically with what looked like a palm thrust to the woman's heart. Almost instantly Depa collapsed to the ground and the Temple entrance hall was silent. Revan turned to Galen and the others,

"We should leave now." He suggested, "Any enemy forces worth their salt will have heard or sensed the commotion by now."

Galen couldn't help but agree, the Empire probably already had entire divisions of stormtroopers inbound to the Temple. It was safe to say that they probably shouldn't be anywhere near the Temple when they arrived. Kota was in no condition to be fighting stormtroopers and while he was sure he, Revan and Ahsoka could handle the regular troopers without a problem it would be the tanks and the special units that did them in in the end. Nodding a little bit, he turned to Ahsoka,

"Ahsoka right?" he asked, continuing at her nod, "Do you think you can carry Kota with the Force to our ship on the landing pad?"

She looked a little bit surprised that he had taken command before she seemed to grow a little bit annoyed at him for doing so,

"Why is it that you're in charge?" she demanded, "And why are you acting like I'm going to go with you?"

Galen gave her an annoyed glance,

"Look there's no time for you to get snippy with me." He cut her off, not noticing the way she flinched at the use of the term 'snippy'. Turning to Revan, he paused when he noticed that the ancient Jedi had picked up Depa and had her slung over his shoulder, "Revan… is she dead?"

There was a moment's pause, during which Revan pressed his fingers to the woman's neck. It looked like he was checking for a pulse but his body was that of a droid. He was probably using the touch to make it seem less creepy that he just knew it. Or, Galen reflected as he glanced sideways at Ahsoka, he was guarding his secrets from people he was unsure about. After a moment he shrugged a little bit,

"I was a bit rusty with the attack but it worked." He told them with a small smirk, "She's in a coma that I induced with the pressure point attack. Don't worry, I can easily reverse it. But before then I suggest we take a look inside her mind and see what her intentions are. She might become an asset instead of a liability."

It was a gamble but Galen was happy to see that it actually wasn't that big of a gamble. She was in a coma and would stay in one until Revan undid the damage her had done. This gave them plenty of time to probe her mind. And, if it turned out she wasn't going to help them against the Empire, she could remain that way indefinitely. After a moment's consideration he nodded to the idea and pulled up a com link,

"PROXY, prep the Shadow." He commanded the droid before smirking faintly, "And try to behave yourself, we're going to be having company."

* * *

"Who is your Jedi Master?"

That was the question that got fired at Galen as soon as he entered the general room of the Rogue Shadow, almost an hour after their escape from the Jedi Temple. It had been a tight thing but his ship was impressive to say the least and they had managed to evade the Imperial fighters that had been sent after them. Right now they were in hyperspace, hence why he felt secure enough to visit Ahsoka in the middle of the ship,

"Hello to you too." He muttered as he sat down opposite her at the rounded table. Setting his lightsaber down on the table he took out the care-kit that he had originally been given by Vader. Disassembling his lightsaber with the Force, he glanced at Ahsoka, "I suppose at the moment I have two Masters. Kota, who you've met before apparently, and Revan. Why the sudden interest?"

Ahsoka seemed to mull this answer around in his head, idly playing with a little necklace she was wearing. Paying her no mind, Galen began to clean his lightsaber. He was polishing the colour crystal, his favourite part of his new lightsaber, when she spoke again,

"How is it that I never met you before at the Temple?" she asked him quietly, "You know… before the purge. Before my expulsion from the Order too I guess."

Looking up from his work, Galen thought about how to answer the question as he looked directly into her green eyes. She met his gaze squarely, something he found mildly impressive. Most people found staring into his light grey eyes to be rather unnerving. There was a silence between the two as their gazes locked before Galen returned to his work,

"I never attended the Temple. I'm only seventeen standard years old after all." He told her quietly. She opened her mouth to ask another question but he sensed that she would do so and had a hand already held up for her to stop. Slotting his polished crystal back into his lightsaber he glanced up at her, "In answer to your next most likely question… I was instructed in lightsaber combat and Force techniques by my former master since… well since I was young. Can I ask you who your master was?"

Ahsoka had been listening intently to his answer, still playing with the necklace around her neck throughout it. When he asked who her Master was though she stopped playing with the necklace, clutching it tightly instead and gritting her teeth. Galen frowned a little bit, concerned, when he saw that she was so upset at the mere mention of her Master. Of course there was a chance that her Master hadn't made it through the Great Jedi Purge that had accompanied Order 66. But she seemed more angry than upset so perhaps not. His musings were cut short when she nodded once,

"I suppose that's fair… my Master was Anakin Skywalker." She revealed to him, taking a steady breath before closing her eyes, "Before my expulsion from the Order and… before he became Darth Vader."

Galen's heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. This was beyond a coincidence here. He had gone to the Jedi Temple to try and find an ally against Vader and the Empire and he just happened to wander across Vader's old padawan learner? Something told him that the Force had a hand in this, more so than it usually did in things at least. He was conflicted for a moment as to what to do with this information. If he didn't tell her the truth then he could count on her anger at Vader to keep her loyal to his cause. But such dishonesty… it stank of Sith workings. And he was a Jedi now. He would not stoop to using deceit on his allies like they did,

"Since you have told me something that was hard for you to speak of I suppose I should do the same… and tell you that we shared a Master." He told her quietly, watching her eyes widen in surprise, "My former Master was Darth Vader. My goal, my dream, was to be the perfect weapon for my Master and I was very good at what I did."

He sighed a little bit when he saw Ahsoka's expression. It was a mixture of understanding and disgust. Deciding that she needed to hear the rest he gestured to the ship,

"He betrayed me and I received a vision from the Force itself." He told her before his eyes steeled with determination, "My father's spirit spoke to me. Told me to become the Jedi he always knew that I could be. Told me that I was to build up a rebellion to the Empire… that my new goal, my new dream, was to overthrow the Empire that has taken and taken from the people of the Galaxy!"

There was silence for a moment as Galen calmed down a little bit, lowering his gaze back down to Ahsoka as he had ended up looking at the ceiling for some reason. Ahsoka still looked a little bit conflicted but the fact that he wanted to overthrow the Empire and Vader seemed to be what swayed her. After a few moments she smirked a little bit playfully,

"Revan or Kota?" she teased him, "Come on, fess up, which one?"

Galen was lost for a moment before he caught what she was getting at. His cheeks reddened in embarrassment a little bit. She had seen it already? Well damn, looked like he needed to get used to it to make it seem natural,

"How'd you guess?" he asked sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, "But yeah… yeah Kota has been trying to help me give inspiration speeches. He says I rely too much on the truth at the moment… in some cases the truth will just discourage people. Personally I like giving everyone the full story."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow as she appraised him for a few moments. Galen's eyebrow twitched in annoyance when she began to click her tongue as she thought. After a few moments of her continuing the annoying tick he was about to tell her to stop it when she spoke up,

"Alright then _little boy_…" she teased him, smirking when he fumed, "I guess I'll give you and Master Kota a hand with this rebellion."

The 'little boy' comment had Galen more than a little bit angry but also embarrassed which was a bit out of place. Unless… oh Force no. He did not think of her as an attractive woman. He couldn't! She was not going to be causing him embarrassment throughout their time together just because of his Force-damned hormones! But even though he knew the cause he couldn't help but shoot out the reply,

"I am NOT a little boy!" he announced, crossing his arms and unintentionally giving the impression of a little boy pouting. When she giggled he scowled a little bit, "Well you're not much older than me! How old are you then?"

Adopting a mock-offended face, Ahsoka placed a hand on her chest. Annoyingly enough Galen had to control his thoughts to keep his eyes from following her hand to where it was resting. She smirked playfully at him as she stood up, tossing her tails over her shoulder like human women did with their hair,

"Such a rude question to ask of a woman!" she declared with mock indignation before moving towards the cockpit. Pausing in the doorway she looked over her shoulder at him and tossed him a wink, "Either way, I'm out of your league Star-guy."

Galen spluttered indignantly as his damn hormones caused his entire face to flush bright red, looking quite the sight as Ahsoka left, laughing happily.

* * *

Depa Billaba was laid out on the table in the centre of the room that Galen had affectionately named the 'meditation chamber'. In reality it was the communications room but considering only Vader ever contacted him before this it had been the quietest room by far in the ship, ironically enough. Galen glanced down at the Jedi Master as she lay there in a coma. Circling the table a few times, he sighed a little bit in frustration before sitting down at a chair by the table.

Revan was the room's only other occupant, standing in the corner across from Galen. His arms were crossed over his chest and his expression was stern. They had been trying to get into Depa's mind in order to figure out whether or not she could be a useful member of this alliance of rebels they were constructing. Right now Kota was using the communications in the cockpit to get into contact with one of his contacts in the senate and they were running out of time to figure out if Depa could be useful to them.

The problem wasn't that Galen had little to no experience in diving into the minds of other sentients, much less another Force sensitive. Hell, the problem wasn't even that Revan was technically a robot with the projection of a person's memories and personality, meaning he lacked any connection to the Force. No, the biggest problem was that Depa's mind had locked down completely and no technique that Galen had managed to learn through Revan's instruction was helping and they'd been doing this for the past two days.

Needless to say, Ahsoka had teased Galen mercilessly about not being able to get into the 'dreams' of a woman. That had resulted in an amusing little argument and another lesson for Galen about keeping his temper, and hormones, under control. Galen had spent the last two days cursing the fact that he was still only seventeen and the existence of hormones.

Sighing a little bit, Galen placed his hands on either side of Depa's head and concentrated on his connection to the Force by closing his eyes and regulating his breathing. Grabbing hold of his connection to the Force he breathed out slowly as he tried to gently nudge his connection to the Force towards Depa's connection to the same energy. But once again his connection was rebuffed from hers, causing him to swear and release his connection to the Force,

"It's not working still…" he muttered to Revan, "Her connection to the Force keeps pushing mine away. I mean I know I could overpower hers but you said that could cause problems for us so I've held off on doing that. But I need to do something different… our connections aren't merging like you said they would."

Revan nodded once but didn't respond verbally, causing Galen to sigh a little bit and rest his head against the cold metal of the table by Depa's head. He was often like this, he had discovered. Apparently Revan was the type of person to only speak when he thought it was worth it, he would rather not waste words or time. After a few moments, Revan spoke,

"Alright then. Time for drastic measures." He declared before nodding to Galen, "You say that you can overpower her connection and force yours to merge with hers? Do it."

Normally Galen would have protested, he had been told that some of the consequences for failing this method included Depa dying and he wanted to avoid adding to his conscience. But right now he was tired and frustrated, having done the same thing repeatedly for the past two days, without any obvious change. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and placed his hands a few inches away from her temples.

This time he was much more forceful with the two connections and used his own command of the Force to press their connections together almost violently. If he had been after a response then this time was much better because he got one almost instantly. Unfortunately for both Galen and Depa, the response was one of blinding pain shooting through the Force itself into their minds. Both Galen and the comatose Depa screamed loudly in pain as the Force flowed freely and undiluted into the two of them.

After a few moments the pain was gone and Galen fell to the floor, having collapsed sideways away from the chair he was sitting in. Groaning as the pain began to subside, he rubbed his temple in an attempt to work the headache away. Something was different though, something about the room and about his connection to the Force. For some reason his connection to the Force seemed stronger.

This was a very good thing. It meant that the maximum amount of raw Force power he could channel had increased. Something that many would consider insane considering his already massive ability in that area. The other difference was that he felt his attention being tugged to somewhere else. To someone else. Groaning a little bit, he wobbled to his feet before a hand on his shoulder steadied him,

"Thanks…" he muttered before opening his eyes to find Depa Billaba staring right at him, less than an inch from his face, "Gah!"

In a very undignified display, Galen stumbled backwards in surprise. This cause Revan to laugh and Depa to look very concerned for a moment,

"Are you alright Master?"

Revan smirked, a very rare sight, as Galen simply gawped at the human Jedi in front of him,

"Oh Ahsoka is going to love this…"

* * *

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